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Archived Home Pages - March 2006

03/31/06
The Official Minutes of the March 20, 2006 meeting of the Board of Supervisors have been posted.03/30/06
The Preliminary Agenda for the April 3 meeting of the Board of Supervisors has been posted.03/28/06
The presentation by the State Police and ensuing question and answer period at last night's special meeting of the Board of Supervisors drew one of the largest audiences I have seen at BOS meetings. Discussion ran the gamut from traffic and accident problems on various roads through Charlestown (much of which can only be mitigated through action by PennDOT) to home and auto break-ins, loud parties, barking dogs and other problems. The official minutes of the meeting will probably be posted here soon after next Monday's board meeting."Official: New voting machines on schedule" by Adam Cirucci in today's Daily Local News reports on the expectation that two types of new voting machines will be in use throughout the county for the May primary election. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/27/06Reminder - There will be a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors this evening at which police and emergency services in Charlestown Township will be discussed. Representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police and our other Emergency Responders will review their support and response to Charlestown Township. The meeting is at 7:30 PM in room 154 at the Great Valley Middle School. The agenda is available here."Road work planned for Route 29" by John Rossomando in Sunday's Daily Local News reports on planned widening and turn lane additions to Rt. 29 near the turnpike overpass. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here. Construction is not expected to be done until 2008.03/25/06Well Testing (from Linda Csete) -

Springtime is the ideal time to test your well water. Well Testing Kits are now available at no charge to residents at the Township Office on a first come, first served basis. The County charges a $15.00 fee when you drop off your water sample at their office.

"Great Valley student turns corn into energy" by Anne Pickering in today's Daily Local News reports on Charlestown resident Charles Andersen's ongoing grant-funded project to use a corn-fueled furnace to heat a hoop house for growing plants throughout the winter months. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/23/06Charlestown Historical Society Spring Meetings (from John Pittock) -
We hope for a great turnout for the meetings since both speakers have interesting & relevant topics. The meetings will be in Charlestown Elementary School cafeteria. Park in the lot between the school and the bus garage and enter through door #5. Follow signs to the meeting.

Tuesday, April 4 - The first CHS meeting of 2006 will be held at 8 PM on Tuesday, April 4 at the Charlestown Elementary School. The speaker for this meeting will be Ryan Conroy, a resident of Phoenixville and board member of the Historical Society of Phoenixville. He will speak on the history of photography of the 1840-1940 era and identification of old photographs. Those attending are invited to bring old photos, etc. for display & identification.

Wednesday, May 3 - The second spring meeting will be held at 8 PM on Wed. May 3, also at Charlestown Elementary School. The speaker for this meeting will be Dave Frees of Phoenixville, who is active in HSPA. He will speak on Phoenixville majolica and those coming to the meeting are invited to bring examples they might have. Some of the Stinson Markley majolica collection will be on display.

03/22/06
The Official Minutes of the March 6, 2006 meeting of the Board of Supervisors have been posted.The rain date for the April 22 Earth Day Clean Up has been changed to April 29."Card-scanner system is choice in Chesco" by Nancy Petersen in today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the new voting system approved by Chester County officials. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here."Board to buy voting machines" by R. Jonathan Tuleya in today's Daily Local News also reports on the new voting system. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here."Montco spends $6.2 million preserving farmland" by Margaret Gibbons in today's The Mercury reports on the purchase of development rights from three farms in Montgomery County to preserve open space. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/21/06Lost Dog (from Linda Csete) -

I just had a visit here at the township Office from Michelle Perate, whose Boston Terrier, Skippy, went missing about 1:30 PM this afternoon, March 21st, in the area of Rees Road and Blackstone Lane. Blackstone Lane is one of the roads in the Whitehorse @ Charlestown development, so Skippy may have travelled as far as Whitehorse Road or to Howells Road. Skippy is a friendly black and white dog, about 20 pounds, who is wearing a red collar but no ID tag. If you see him please call Michelle Perate at 610-415-0423.

03/19/06Paul Hogan Featured - "Not Just Kid's Stuff" by Jim Waltzer in the April 2006 issue of Main Line Today magazine is a feature "profile" article on Charlestown's Paul Hogan, currently a second term township supervisor and always an active, "get it done and explain later" guy. The feature length article focuses on Paul's distinguished career and business as an advocate of playground safety. The April issue is just out and should be available on newstands for a while. You can learn more about Paul and his business by visiting his Playhouse Clearing House web site.03/17/06
The Preliminary Agenda for the March 20 meeting of the Board of Supervisors has been posted. Note that the Official Map Ordinance item will simply be a continuance until May 1st to allow residents to review the revised documents just distributed (see below). Also note the Allan Myers Curative Amendment (landfill) is on the agenda.Earth Day 2006 (From Linda Csete)

Charlestown Township
The entire community is invited to help clean up litter and trash along the roadsides. This clean-up is in celebration of Earth Day and will be held Saturday, April 22, 2006 from 9am - Noon. (Rain date April 29) If you are interested you will need to register in order to ensure plenty of gloves, trash bags, etc. are available. Everyone will meet on the 22nd at the Township Office to pick up supplies and information. The Township Office is located at 4030 Whitehorse Road in the same building as the Devault Post Office. To register and receive more information, email or call: Bridget Gross:Jetkiwi122@comcast.net or Linda Csete: admin1@charlestown.pa.us (610-240-0326).

Official Map Ordinance (from Linda Csete) - A final draft of the Official Map Ordinance has been distributed by the Board of Supervisors to affected land owners. The cover letter, which includes an enclosed optional Right of First Refusal document, as well as the revised Ordinance have been posted as both web pages and pdf documents. Both documents are linked from our cover page for the proposed amendment. Click here.I have withdrawn the posting on the mulch/termite issue as I have been advised it is a hoax. Sorry if I got anyone overly concerned about it.03/16/06
The Official Minutes of the February 14, 2006 meeting of the Planning Commission have been posted."No one injured in one vehicle crash" by Dennis J. Wright in today's The Phoenix reports on yesterday's accident near the intersection of Charlestown and Hollow Roads. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/15/06PennDOT Meeting Scheduled (from Linda Csete) -

PennDOT will hold a public meeting on March 21 to discuss the plan to widen and improve Route 29 between Yellow Springs Road/Warner Lane and Phoenixville Pike/Charlestown Road. The meeting will be held in the Charlestown Elementary School cafeteria from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The school is located at 2060 Charlestown Road. The improvement project consists of adding additional travel and turn lanes on Route 29 and improving the intersections at Yellow Springs Road/Warner Lane, White Horse Road and Charlestown Road/Phoenixville Pike. PennDOT expects final design to begin later this year, with construction expected to start in 2008.

"County changing voting system?" by R. Jonathan Tuleya in today's Daily Local News reports on possible changes in plans by the county board of elections to continue to use punch card voting for the upcoming May 16 primary election. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/13/06
"Gimme a T, gimme an E ... Test prep reaches high-stakes frenzy" by Kristen E. Graham in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer reports on how schools in the Delaware Valley are handling the PSSA exams. The article includes a comment from Meg Rosecky regarding how Charlestown Elementary is handling the exams. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here."Growth in Chesco calls for an update - The award-winning 1995 Landscapes plan didn't foresee swelling population and housing costs." by Nancy Petersen in today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the nearly 10 year old Chester County Landscapes plan, and the need for an update in light of growth over the past decade. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here."Farm Park users say improvements in Master Plan could ruin 'treasure'" by Margaret Gibbons in today's The Mercury reports on efforts in Montgomery County to keep a farm park a working farm while allowing passive recreation. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/10/06
"A new turnpike ramp will run her off the road" by Susan Weidener in today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the eviction of a Devault resident whose property is required for the construction of the PA Turnpike slip ramp in that area. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.Upcoming Entertainment (from Debbie Kuhn) -

If you aren't going to be at the flower show Friday night you might want to go to a concert and there are two great ones locally. Grand Derangement is a Canadian group from Nova Scotia performing Acadian music - very much like Cajun - same French heritage - will be at Great Valley HS at 8:00 Friday night. If you are in the mood for good Irish music go see Boys of the Lough at OJR at 7:00 also on Friday. Both groups are touring the US for a few weeks and we are fortunate to have them. Next Friday night if you like Scottish music you might want to check out Battlefield Band at Great Valley HS at 8:00.

03/08/06
The Official Minutes of the February 27, 2006 meeting of the Board of Supervisors have been posted."Residents protest land seizure" by Michael Crist in today's Daily Local News reports on the Great Valley School District's acquisition by eminent domain of a residential property adjacent to the High School. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.Clever Raccoons - We are having fun at the cost of a bag of sunflower seeds in our escalating confrontation with several raccoons who are quite successful at getting into a metal trash can containing the seeds outside our kitchen window. I wish I had started photographing the can each morning since this started. The first photo is the can as found the morning after I had run a bungie cord across the top, through the top's handle. The next day I doubled and twisted the bungie cords to make them tighter, and had the same result.

About 11:30 last night, we heard noises on the porch and my wife saw a raccoon climbing into the trash can, with two twisted bungie cords still in place. He almost completely disappeared inside (the can was 3/4 full when this sequence started about 5 days ago, and is near empty now). We have very poor porch lighting for photography, and this is a blurry image with a several second exposure through two panes of glass, but it shows all that we could see of the raccoon as he/she dined last night. We're trying another approach tonight (having already used heavy rocks and multiple bungie cords to no effect). Stay tuned.03/06/06Regional Planning Report Posted - The DRAFT Comprehensive Plan including a separate Index prepared by the Phoenixville Region Planning Committee have been posted in PDF format. Note that the plan itself is a 1.7 MB download (118 pages) which includes many color maps and graphics. The index is a 560 KB download (140 pages) which also includes color maps and graphics. If you have a relatively slow dial-up Internet connection it may take quite a while to download the plan. A printed copy of the plan is available from the Township Office. Please contact Linda Csete if you would like a copy. The advantage of the download version is that you can easily search it for items of particular interest. The two drafts are available from our Index to Gov't Info page under "Phoenixville Regional Planning Committee".Earned Income Tax Info - The telephone number to contact CENTAX with questions about our township Earned Income Tax has been changed to 610-828-1227. (Thanks to Chris Rasmussen for bringing this to my attention.)"Don't confuse prevalence of sprawl with desirability" in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer is a critical review of "Sprawl: A Compact History", a book by University of Illinois professor Robert Bruegmann. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/02/06
The Preliminary Agenda for the March 6 meeting of the Board of Supervisors has been posted."A touchy voting dispute gets a look and a hearing" by Nancy Petersen in today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports on new developments in the saga of new voting systems in Pennsylvania, including Chester County. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here.03/01/06Official Map Ordinance - Mtg Postponed (from Linda Csete) -

The Board of Supervisors plans additional revisions to the Official Map Ordinance, and has decided that the continuation of the hearing scheduled for March 20th will be postponed. As a matter of procedure, the ordinance will still be listed on the agenda as a hearing but will simply open and continue to a new date. This date has yet to be determined and will be announced when available. Property owners whose parcels are listed on the Official Map will receive a letter with the revised ordinance and new hearing date in the mail within the next few weeks.

Police/Fire Issues - Special Mtg (from Linda Csete) -

The Charlestown Township Board of Supervisors invites you to a special meeting with representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police and our other Emergency Responders to review their support and response to Charlestown Township. Your comments and questions are welcome.Monday, March 27, 2006, 7:30 P.M.
Great Valley Middle School Choral Room 154
255 N. Phoenixville Pike, Malvern
Questions - call the Township Office (610) 240-0326
or email admin1@charlestown.pa.us

Roadside Cleanup (from Linda Csete) -

Thanks to inquiries from several residents and students interested in organizing or participating in a spring roadside clean up in Charlestown, we will be coordinating an event this spring. Any residents interested in joining our efforts are invited to call the township office and speak to Linda Csete (610) 240-0326 or email her at admin1@charlestown.pa.us.

"Punch-card voting system to be used in May primary" by R. Jonathan Tuleya in today's Daily Local News reports on the decision by county commissioners to keep the punch card voting system for the May primary, supplemented by an electronic system accessible to disabled voters. The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here."Don't Kelo My House", an editorial in yesterday's Wall Street Journal comments on the government's power of "eminent domain" to take private property for private economic development. (Those who followed Coatesville's attempts to take a farm and other property outside the city limits for a golf course will find this of particular interest.) The article is available on-line from the paper's web site by clicking here. (Thanks to Suzanne Naylor for bringing this to my attention.)